Ukraine launches a new offensive in the Kursk region of Russia

Ukraine has launched a new offensive in the Kursk region of Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry says.

In a statement, the military said that efforts to destroy Ukrainian attack groups are ongoing. Officials in Ukraine have also suggested that an operation is underway.

Ukraine began its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, taking a large chunk of territory.

In recent months, Russian forces have made major gains in the area, pushing the Ukrainians back but failing to expel them entirely.

In a statement published on Telegram on Sunday, Russia’s defense ministry said: “Around 9 p.m. Moscow time, to stop the offensive of Russian troops in the direction of Kursk, the enemy launched a counter- attack by an assault detachment consisting of two tanks, an anti-obstacle vehicle, and 12 armored fighting vehicles.

The head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said that “it was good news from the Kursk region” and that Russia “gets what it deserves.”

Andriy Kovalenko, Ukraine’s top counter-disinformation officer, said in a Telegram Sunday post: “The Russians in Kursk have great anxiety because they were attacked from many directions and it was a surprise for them.”

It is unclear whether the offensive is broad enough to lead to any significant changes on the front line.

Kiev’s forces are suffering from manpower shortages and have lost ground in eastern Ukraine in recent months as Russian troops advance.

It comes as the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched another drone strike in Ukraine overnight.

It said it had shot down 61 drones over Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyy regions.

There were no direct hits, but a few houses were damaged in Kharkiv Region by an intercepted drone, the air force said.

In November, Ukraine reported that its troops had engaged in combat with North Korean troops in the Kursk region.

The appearance of North Korean soldiers was in response to a surprise attack launched across the border by Ukrainian troops in August, advancing up to 18 miles (30 km) into Russian soil.

Moscow evacuated nearly 200,000 people from areas along the border and President Vladimir Putin condemned the Ukrainian offensive as a “major provocation”.

After a fortnight, the supreme commander of Ukraine claimed to control more than 1,200 km² of Russian territory and 93 countries.

Some of that territory has been retaken by Russia, but Ukraine still has troops in the Kursk region.